Lavender
by Kay-san
Summary: The cover to Sakura's diary causes Kakashi to remember the first time he met the kunoichi. KakaSaku friendship drabble.


This would not leave me alone! So, here's a cutesy, fluffy little one-shot, drabbly thing for you. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. This fic is made purely for entertainment purposes and not monetary gain.

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**Lavender**

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Haruno Sakura dropped her travel pack to the ground with a grateful sigh. Team 7 had been traveling since dawn and the sky was almost completely black now. "Kakashi-sensei, you're ruthless."

The silver-headed jounin peeked over the book he was reading to regard his team's kunoichi. "It's been a full day of travel. There's nothing unusual about that when you're a ninja, Sakura-chan."

"It's unusual when you only get one five-minute break! We're not elite jounin like you, sensei."

He gave a happy eye crease. "Then you just need more training so you can keep up."

Sakura just rolled her eyes and turned to set up her bedroll.

As Kakashi got ready to take up first watch, he turned to tell his students to get some rest when the diary Sakura was writing in caught his line of sight. His visible eye grew wide as a long forgotten memory flooded back to him.

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_20 year old Hatake Kakashi had just returned from an ANBU mission and decided to take a detour by the Memorial on his way home. As he neared, he heard the sound of crying. It was nothing unusual in a ninja village, especially with a recently completed war and memories of the Kyuubi's attack still fresh in everyone's mind. The amount of orphans in Konoha was staggering and he was sure it was just another unfortunate child mourning their parent or parents._

_When he made it to the clearing, he was puzzled to see a little girl with pink hair sitting against the stone, knees drawn up and her face buried in them. He was sure he had seen this girl in the village before, pink was an unusual hair color after all. And he knew her parents weren't ninja. They owned a small café popular with civilians. What in the world was she doing at the Memorial?_

_He pushed his ANBU mask to the side of his head so he wouldn't frighten the child. He squatted down in front of her and spoke softly. "What's got you so sad?"_

_Sakura looked up with a startled gasp and shifted around slightly so he was no longer in front of her. In a rather comical display, Kakashi stuck one long leg out to the side so he was in front of her once again. The two continued in this fashion until they had scuttled all the way around the monument and Sakura pouted at him in irritation, green eyes still wet with tears. "What do you want, ANBU-san?"_

"_Why are you crying?"_

_Sakura fidgeted, not wanting to answer. Kakashi lowered his head to catch her gaze and she relented. "The other girls at the Academy tease me about my forehead because it's too big. They called me names and then beat me up."_

_Kakashi held back a wince as he noticed the bruises along her bare arms. They looked like someone had grabbed her and dragged her. He looked back up when he heard her choke back a new sob. "I should just quit. I'll never be a good kunoichi anyway."_

"_Now that's not true, kunoichi-chan. Here, I want to show you something. Stay put." He moved over to a little patch of flowers nearby and picked a lavender flower. "Look at this flower here."_

_Sakura looked at him and then at the flower skeptically. "It's a weed."_

"_No. It's lavender. Have you heard the expression 'what's inside is what counts'?"_

"…_Yes." She still wasn't sure where he was going with this._

"_Well, maybe your forehead is slightly larger than average. But who cares? If you're a good person, it doesn't matter what you look like. Just like this lavender plant. It doesn't look like much, but smell." He handed her the little flower and she sniffed it._

_She looked at him quizzically. "So I smell good?"_

_Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose. It seemed another comparison was in order. He glanced around the clearing and smiled as he noticed a cocoon hanging from a tree. "Here's a better example. See that cocoon?"_

_Sakura nodded. This ANBU guy was odd._

"_Well, what goes into a cocoon?"_

"_A caterpillar."_

"_Right. And what comes out?"_

"_A butterfly."_

"_So, maybe you're just a little caterpillar now. But give it some time and I'm sure you'll grow into a beautiful butterfly." Kakashi's eyes curved into happy creases._

_Sakura couldn't help but smile back, a small blush dusting her cheeks. "Thank you, ANBU-san." _

_The kid was adorable, Kakashi couldn't deny that. In a very rare display, he lifted the bangs from her wide forehead and placed a slight kiss there. And then proceeded to annoy the heck out of her by ruffling her hair. "Goodbye, kunoichi-chan. No more tears, now!"_

_He turned and gave a slight wave over his shoulder._

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Sakura's diary had not only a butterfly on the cover, but that little dried out lavender plant was placed inside the plastic covering of her diary. He gave a little smile as he realized she took his advice to heart and did turn out okay. Maybe she wasn't the strongest on their team, but no one would have a chance to show their stuff with Naruto and Sasuke as teammates. "You need to get some sleep, Sakura."

"I know, sensei. I know. Sheesh. A girl can't even write in her diary." She settled down and closed her eyes, only to have them pop back open in surprise with two words from her sensei.

"Goodnight, kunoichi-chan."

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A/N: Blech. I don't know what happened. It was incredibly cute in my mind and then I write it and Kakashi's completely OOC. Ah well. It wouldn't leave me alone until written and posted, so there. Hugs & Kisses!


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